The front page of the Daily Mail has caused outrage.
Photograph: The Daily Mail

A Daily Mail front page that declared “Never mind Brexit, who won Legs-it!” next to a photograph of Scottish first minister Nicola Sturgeon and British prime minister Theresa May has prompted widespread outrage.

The bigots are on the march – and with ‘Legs-it’ the Daily Mail bears the flag | Owen Jones

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Inside the paper there was was more ogling at the female leaders, with a headline reading: “Finest weapons at their command? Those pins!” A column by Sarah Vine referred to Sturgeon’s legs as “altogether more flirty, tantalisingly crossed … a direct attempt at seduction”.

The front page, which appeared on Twitter on Monday night, met with instant criticism from politicians and the public.

Among the first to criticise the front page as sexist and offensive were the Labour MPs Harriet Harman and Yvette Cooper. Tony Blair’s former spin doctor, Alastair Campbell, labelled the paper “utter scum” and urged anyone who spotted a copy of the Mail to rip it up The former Labour leader Ed Miliband tweeted: “The 1950s called and asked for their headline back.”

Yvette Cooper (@YvetteCooperMP)

It's 2017. Two women's decisions will determine if United Kingdom continues to exist. And front page news is their lower limbs. Obviously pic.twitter.com/AMp0YvtISa

The front page, which referenced difficult talks between the leaders in Glasgow over Brexit, looked slightly different in Scotland, where the Scottish edition of the Daily Mail used the same photograph but with a headline that read: “Oh so frosty! Secrets of Nicola and PM’s talk-in.”

Journalists, commentators and members of the public in the UK and beyond were left shaking their heads.